Riot on the Radio: Catch-22, Joseph Heller

A bombardier named Yossarian rules this novel, as it chronicles his outrageous antics and not-always-successful attempts to avoid his missions and leave the war altogether. It points out the absurdities of war and the illusory chain of command.

I can not say a lot about this book, to be honest, because I did not finish it. I have tried reading the book three times, and each time not going beyond a quarter of the novel. My audio book attempt has been more successful, but only slightly. I have listened to half of it, to be exact, and even the mere prospect of listening to the rest is torture.

Yes, the novel is interesting. It can also be funny. Most of it, however, is incredibly dragging and terribly confusing.

The narrator for this version, Jay O. Sanders, was not much help either. His characters did not stand out; instead, they all seemed one-dimensional, doing nothing but complaining and trying to outsmart everyone else. Listening to the audio book was not a pleasant experience, unlike Huck Finn, and I often found myself missing huge chunks of the story because my mind had drifted off to greener pastures and left Yossarian and his friends unattended.

The audio book was so terrible that I felt the need to “return” it to Audible.com.